It was Wings rookie Paige Bueckers’ world on Wednesday night.
Throughout the course of what would eventually be a devastating 81–80 loss to the Sparks, the No. 1 overall pick scored 44 points on 17-of-21 shooting. The tally ties Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper’s 28-year-old rookie record for most points in a single game, and is also the most points scored in a single game in the WNBA this season.
43 POINTS FOR PAIGE BUECKERS!! THE MOST POINTS BY ANY WNBA PLAYER THIS SEASON ⭐⭐⭐ pic.twitter.com/LKyN33a3Y5
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) August 21, 2025
Bueckers has been sensational for the Wings this season, despite their lowly 9-27 record, leading the team in points (18.8), assists (5.4), steals (1.7), and blocks (0.5) per game. That’s on the heels of a college season in which she led UConn to the national championship.
As she put another top-tier performance in the books, the WNBA world was loving what they saw. Here’s a look at some of the best reactions across X (formerly Twitter):
Paige Bueckers after hearing people say Sonia Citron should be Rookie of the Year pic.twitter.com/UHjYBmvUWM
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) August 21, 2025
MAN I LOVE PAIGE BUECKERS
— mia ౨ৎ ❤️🔥 TS12 (@ntltcbueckers) August 21, 2025
PAIGE BUECKERS IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME THERE IS NO RACE FOR ROTY I’M LEAVING HERE WITH SOMETHING IDFC pic.twitter.com/2I6C8SfC8P
— VICK ☆ (@tsvickpb) August 21, 2025
And the first 40+ game in the W this season belongs to Paige Bueckers! We made it, y’all!!! pic.twitter.com/UAaW9IxT13
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) August 21, 2025
Rookies to drop 40+ points:
— Candace Parker
— Cynthia Cooperand Paige Bueckers. pic.twitter.com/q3VMeqvQGH
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers just had the 2nd fewest free throw attempts in a 40-point game in WNBA history. pic.twitter.com/z2DKGv4L2n
— Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers is ROTY
— BIG MAMA 🫦 (@CourtKourt214) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers YOU ARE INSANE.
She literally just doing whatever she wants 😭pic.twitter.com/YpdanXxriO
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers going crazy pic.twitter.com/TpkT878Kpy
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) August 21, 2025
Rookies in WNBA history with a 40-point game:
Paige Bueckers (tonight)
Candace Parker
Cynthia Cooper— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers dropped 44 points on 17/21 and the Wings STILL LOST pic.twitter.com/MnUQ7JiXQ5
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) August 21, 2025
I can now comfortably say Paige Bueckers clears Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/gbsplpoI5i
— Ar (@ArCooked) August 21, 2025
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
#WNBA #World #Reacts #Paige #Bueckers #Tying #Rookie #SingleGame #Scoring #Record